The Warmth of Winter
by marmalade bunny
Summary: Sessh-Older Rin love story. i cannot give you a summary for this story, please read to find out. sorry.


Twelve summers have passed since Sesshomaru-sama had saved Rin, and as many winters and other seasons. Riding upon the two headed dragon Rin began remembering instances from the previous seasons which were close to her heart, when she was much younger, her Master would allow her to watch festivals from his shoulder but from far, lest the humans saw them; the wild flowers she would collect and he would appreciate with a nod of his head; his big hand lathering her hair as Master Jaken helped with her bath; the warmth of his lap upon which he allowed her to sleep.

Her smile began falling as she began remembering the change in her Master's behavior towards her over the past few years; he always kept a safe distance from her; guarded her while she bathed but with a barrier of bushes in between unlike before where he would sit on a branch or rest against the trunk; he forbade her from sleeping next to him if she had a nightmare. "Master doesn't like me anymore, does he?" she asked the dragon as she stroke the heads lovingly, "seems to be ignoring me a lot, have I angered him?" The dragon simply shook its heads in reply. Giving them a pat and allowing herself a small smile, Rin thanked them for their support.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I believe winter is setting earlier than we expected." Jaken said as he studied the grey skies. "Then don't stand there like a fool Jaken, hurry ahead and find shelter" came Sesshomaru's instructions "Yes Master!" Jaken ran as fast as his little feet could move which surprisingly was very fast. "Rin, you will stay with me and Jaken and the dragon will be together." "May I ask why Master?" Rin asked in a low voice, "Jaken is fidgety and the dragon snores much to my dislike, does it bother you?" he looked over his shoulders as he asked her. "No Master, I can take the dragon's snoring." "Not the dragon, does sharing the shelter with me bother you now that you are not small anymore?" "No Master, it does not bother me."Nodding his head Sesshomaru took about twenty steps before his hand flew to his head and he found himself onto his side on the coarse road.

"Sesshomaru-sama, Sesshomaru-sama! Help, somebody help! Sesshomaru-sama!" He faintly heard Rin call and shake him in vain before his fingers and body turned cold and his eyes closed as a trickle of blood followed.

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"Rin, Rin, are you Ok? Don't worry, Sesshomaru-sama is fine." "But what happened Master Jaken? This has happened to Sesshomaru-sama before, are you sure that he is Ok?" "Yes Rin, it is just that Sesshomaru-sama when young and angry, he met a dying human who told Sesshomaru-sama that when a rare flower will bloom in Master's path, like a gardener, he will be drawn to protect it and sometimes his body might even work against his will. Though I think what that man said might be partly true, I am very sure that we have nothing to worry about, he might have caught a light fever, nothing a night's rest can't cure. Like Master had suggested, you stay here and look after him, I will stay out and keep guard and fetch things if you need any. Go and remove the furs the dragon is carrying, Master will need them, while I start a fire."

With Jaken's help, Rin spreads the fur on the floor, undresses her Master, removing only his armor and jacket and finally places her groaning Master onto them. "All done, I am leaving, call out if you need anything." Jaken called out to Rin as he left.

_Rare flower which will bloom in Master's path and he will be drawn to it like a gardener_, pulling her knees up, Rin rests her chin and watches the fire gnaw the wood to ashes; it crackles as the wood snaps, joyous over its victory. Taking a long stick she pokes the lazing fire as it rests with its belly full, _who might this flower be, must not be me_ she thinks to herself as she pokes the sleeping fire again and feeds it more wood. Behind her, her Master groans in pain, in an attempt to soothe him, Rin begins singing a song about a little bird, her nest and the hunters who stole her eggs because they were rumored to have healing powers. Her own cheeks were wet by the time she finished singing and her Master seemed to be in less pain. The chill in the room was increasing and she realized that the fire would not be glowing for long. She held her yukata tightly as she bit her lip in thought and worry and suddenly it struck her! Opening her yukata, she saw her now decently curved body and realized that if her body took all the remaining warmth of the fire, it would be beneficial for her Master. Pulling the yukata till her waist, she sat a foot away from the fire; the warmth touched and was absorbed by her semi-cold body.

When she felt hot enough, Rin got up and undid her yukata, letting it fall near her feet. Unashamed by her nakedness, she made her way to her Master's bed and lay next to him, her warm chest pressing against his cold back and her arm draped around him as the fur covered their modesty.

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As the warmth next to him began to fade, Sesshomaru stirred from his sleep, he got up and with him pulled the furs revealing Rin's naked body to the cold. As he realized that the body sleeping next to him so calmly was real and not an illusion, he stopped his hand which was going to caress her soft face. Tearing himself away from her face, Sesshomaru turned his back to her, the furs pulled across his legs.

"Rin", she stirred.

"Rin, why are you lying next to me so?" Opening her eyes slowly, she was expecting to meet the cold and maybe angered amber eyes of her Master but only saw his wide shoulders and broad back. As she sat up, she held the furs lightly to her sufficiently round chest, "It was very cold last night and you were not well. I was afraid that you may not be warm enough so I shared my body heat with you." "Were you not ashamed?" Sesshomaru asked without turning back, his strong voice not giving away any emotion. "No, I was only trying to look after my master, so I am not ashamed for showing my concern." "Rin, you are now a grown woman, it is not respectful for any young woman to sleep in a state of undress with a man unless it is her husband, do you understand?" "I do Master, but my body, mind and soul are yours. You gave me my life back, you saved me then and have saved me many more times after that. So if I were to be ashamed, I would be denying my Master, and I don't want that." Rin let the fur fall as she sat on her knees and covered her Masters shoulders with her yukata.

Resting her head against his back, "Master, I do understand that you might be in love with Miss Kagome or Miss Kagura and finding me beside you instead any of them might have made you uncomfortable but please, I did not mean that to happen. All I want is to serve you and be beside you for the rest of my mortal life. I owe everything to you; my life belongs only to you Sesshomaru-sama." She put her hands around his abdomen and held him tightly, "Please Master, don't push me away from you. I will not survive."

A tear-drop fell on her hand as she felt her Masters hand enveloping hers, "Kagura was a trapped soul who only wanted true freedom from the clutches of Naraku and she got that freedom only in her death. Rin, I am not in love with Kagome, she has and will always belong with my half-breed of a brother, Inuyasha, as you belong with me." He squeezed her hand gently as he turned to face her, lone tears making their departure as they fell silently upon the soft fur.

"I distanced myself from you because I was too stubborn to give in to my feelings and did not believe that such a strong bond can exist between a demon and a human." "Miss Kagome once told me that love is blind, but I refused because Master, my love for you has never been blind, it has watched, studied and understood you." Her cheeks turned pink and in embarrassment she gave him a stupid smile. Smiling softly, Sesshomaru held her cute face in his hand as he pressed his lips against hers. Rin was pleasantly surprised and closed her eyes sending a silent prayer of thanks to the gods. Holding her in the kiss, he gently pushed her down onto the floor and what separated their bodies was the thick fur that Sesshomaru had quietly pulled back up and covered his Rin's cold and exposed body. "Mast-" "Sesshomaru" Sesshomaru cut in, "its Sesshomaru, just Sesshomaru." he said as he kissed her again, "Sesshomaru…" Rin responded as her slender fingers found their way into his thick silver hair.

"Rin" Sesshomaru seemed bit hesitant as he broke the kiss and looked into her eyes, then gathering his courage, he confidently said, "Marry me" "huh?" and down went Sesshomaru's confidence, "Marry me?" he asked again, fear of rejection hung in the question, Rin's eyes began tearing, "Why are you crying?" his brow tensing with worry, "These are tears of happiness," Rin spoke as she wiped her eyes, "and I will happily marry you Sesshomaru!"

He bent his head and kissed her chin then went lower and licked a sensitive spot on the neck making Rin squirm, "This will hurt Rin but I need to mark you as mine so that other demons dare not touch you." Understanding the need of being marked, she nodded as she bit her lip and turned her head, exposing her neck fully for her Master. He interlinked his fingers with hers as he licked and kissed her neck again and when she seemed relaxed and seemed to enjoy the feeling, he began cutting her skin with his free hand. "If it hurts, just squeeze my hand, it will be over soon." She blinked in understanding and squeezed the hand she was holding. Slowly and methodically, his clawed hand cut a crescent moon into her skin, bleeding her a bit and within a few minutes he replicated the same symbol that sat proudly on his forehead. Her hold eased a bit but tightened as she felt the tickling sensation of her Master's tongue skillfully licking the blood from her wound. "Your blood tastes sweet" Sesshomaru licked his own lips as he spoke watching Rin as she went from pink to scarlet, "I wonder if you taste sweet _all over_." He smiled devilishly as his tongue licked Rin's dry lips and claimed her lips as his before she could say anything or turn any redder than a ripe tomato.

Sesshomaru finally relaxed into Rin's hold as she pulled the thick fur covers back to cover them, _that old man was right, like a gardener I was drawn to protect the rare flower that bloomed in my path _Sesshomaru said to himself as he lovingly kissed Rin's palm.

The warmth of winter, nothing like it, eh? Oh, do be quiet, Jaken and the dragon are still sleeping!

A/N: Rin is about 20 in the story, so I have presumed that she was 8 when Sesshomaru saved her. Hehe, and yeah Jaken and the dragon slept through it all! Hope you liked it.

Ja ne!


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